It's time for employers to overcome groupthink and break free from following the crowd. Like the aforementioned CEO, I encourage all employers (and their benefits advisors) to understand their health plan and the choices they have which can reduce costs and provide better benefits to employees:

Unbundle benefits and try new benefits strategies: Looking at the big picture of health plan benefits can be overwhelming. But breaking it down into more digestible pieces and addressing those directly can help open your eyes to tailoring health benefits that meet the needs of employees. For example, some employers provide a hybrid option that offers both a traditional plan and high-deductible health plan so employees will have a choice that also aligns with their finances. It's OK to not fully go out of the box, but by offering additional options, employers are meeting employees' diverse health and financial needs.
Get a good consultant: Many health care brokers and consultants perpetuate groupthink. That's why it's critical to find a good one. Your broker should understand how these contracts work, and help you decipher what's valuable, and explore the potential tradeoffs. They should also be aware of viable alternatives and present you with all options. It's just as important to find a consultant who doesn't subscribe to the "this is how it's always been done" mindset and is willing to try something new.
Break free from the crowd: Partnering with the same health plans and PBMs that ultimately drive up the cost of care is a disservice to your employees. It's OK to ask questions about costs, especially with increasing legislation cropping up every day around price transparency.

People who are closed-minded often see themselves as being open-minded. That may have been true at Wells Fargo, a case that has highlighted a systemic problem in the benefits space. Without the knowledge of the options out there, employers are making uneducated guesses which could be doing a disservice to their employees.

Instant Insights /

Marty Makary: Groupthink is a chronic health plan condition that must be cleaned up

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